Fulham's £10m name plan for Cottage

Fulham are hoping to sell naming rights for their new all-seater stadium for around £10 million.

The club is spending £70m redeveloping Craven Cottage at the end of the season and wants to recoup some of the outlay in a 10-year deal.

Leading sports marketing company IMG has been brought in to talk to wealthy companies.

If Fulham get the price they want, it would be one of the biggest deals of its kind in the country.

Bolton sold their naming rights and club sponsorship to Reebok in a deal worth around £1m-a-year in 1997 when they moved to a new stadium, and Middlesbrough secured a £3.5m 10-year package from BT Cellnet for their new ground in 1994.

Other similar agreements, such as Bradford's with Bradford and Bingley, were much less lucrative.

But Leeds are hoping to cover the cost of their planned new £60m stadium by selling permanent naming rights. Executives at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff are hoping to get £20m for adopting a new corporate identity.

Fulham's deal will need to be in place in time for the scheduled completion of their new 30,000-seat arena in the summer of 2003.

The club has an agreement to play at Queens Park Rangers' Loftus Road ground while work takes place next season. The deal includes an option to extend their stay for a year.

But the fee Fulham can attract for naming rights will depend largely on the team's success in the Premiership.

Jean Tigana's side are 10th as they prepare to play Blackburn at Craven Cottage tomorrow, but are still without midfielder Lee Clark because of an Achilles injury.

Luis Boa Morte will have a late fitness test on an ankle, but Sean Davis should be available again after breaking his nose.

Defender Steve Finnan said: "We are confident we can improve our position. Getting into Europe would mean a lot to the club."